CTI News Room--West Savannah artist Luther E. Vann became the first Savannah-born African-American artist to have a one-man exhibit at the Telfair Museum’s Jepson Center for the Arts when his show opened there April 16, 2008. On May 29, the Jepson Center will host “An Evening with Luther E. Vann and Friends,” an event open to the public from 6-7 p.m. The event will include a presentation by the artist reading from his newly released book, ELEMENTAL: The Power of Illuminated Love (Soar Publishing); a statement of interpretation of Vann’s work by Dr. Ja A. Jahannes; and other surprise events followed by a book signing. His book is now available at the Jepson Center Gift Shop, telephone (912) 790-8831. “This event,” said Vann, “is very special for many different reasons. For one thing, it represents a major successful effort on behalf of the Telfair Museum, working with the Friends of African-American Arts, to interact more inclusively with Savannah’s African-American community. Secondly...

Savannah, Ga.––The Jepson Center for the Arts in Savannah, Georgia, will feature one ground-breaking artist from the present and another from the past when it presents simultaneous exhibits of art by Luther E. Vann and photographs, taken by the late Nickolas Muray, of legendary Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. The one-man show of Vann’s work, titled “Elemental,” will be the first by the artist at the Jepson Center and will run from April 16 to August 17, 2008 . The Kahlo exhibit is titled “Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray,” and will run from April 16 to June 15, 2008 . “Kahlo’s imagination and the freedom she allowed herself to express it is what I admire most about her work,” said Vann. “I also appreciate the energy of surrealism that you find in some of her images. The fact that my art is hanging at the same time as Muray’s photographs of her make me feel like I’m in good company and I hope she feels the same way [smiles].” Many of the paintings scheduled to hang in Vann’s “E...

CTI News Room, Dec 2007--Within weeks of the release of his first novel, the controversial “Christmas When Music Almost Killed the World,” American author Aberjhani made a surprise move with the early-December release of a powerful collection of poetry titled “The Bridge of Silver Wings.” Both titles have been included in the Google Book Search Program. “These titles came out relatively late for the holiday shopping season because the original plans for their publication were changed at the last minute,” said Aberjhani. “So their inclusion in the Google Book Search Program in such a short period of time is kind of miraculous and very necessary because it gives readers worldwide an opportunity to preview the books before buying them.” In a recent interview posted on The Student Operated Press, poet Chase Von (author of YOUR CHANCE TO HEAR THE LAST PANTHER SPEAK) discussed with Aberjhani the sometimes controversial nature of his work. They also spoke about his prolific output, which incl...

October 2007 saw the quiet but steady growth of Creative Thinkers International, a thriving online community of authors, musicians, painters, poets, educators, environmentalists, and other progressive personalities from all over the world. Created by the U.S. author Aberjhani, a former editor for the U.S. Air Force and co-author of “Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance,” the community is hosted by the Ning collective at http://www.creativethinkersintl.ning.com/ “A year ago I would have fainted at the thought of embarking on such a venture,” said Aberjhani, “but on the one hand technological advances in 2007 made it more feasible. And on the other it seemed a good way at this point in my career to make a contribution to helping the world get its act together as opposed to just complaining about everything that’s wrong with it. It's also very much in the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance, a creative movement that spanned the globe in a major way.” True to its name, Creative Thinkers...